Changes
by trulywicked
Summary: After a bad beating, a 6 year old Naruto becomes Kakashi's ward and Kyuubi becomes his mom. How will this change Naruto and who else will he change as a result?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor any characters thereof nor do I make any money from this fic.

I just KNOW people are gonna kill me for this one. This is a harem fic but not your typical harem fic. For starters it's not going to go straight to the wham-bam-thank you ma'am/sir PWPness that seems to characterize many of the harem fics I've read. Also most harem fics I've read are strictly het or strictly yaoi. Not this one. This will be het, yaoi, and, well I don't know what you call sex with a hermaphrodite but that'll be in here too. It is pretty much Naruto/Everyone, well everyone I can stomach anyway.

Also there may be OCs, it's almost guaranteed that some people will be OOC, and Naruto will be smart, super strong, and sexy as hell and he may have a snarky streak that'll peek out from time to time. I'll probably bash a few characters and there may be non-consensuality and dubious-consensuality. Incest is a maybe, I'm still making my mind up on that score. The lemons will be edited out on fanfiction due to the Terms of Service.

Pretty much this fic is a conglomerate of what gets fic authors flamed and I'll be keeping a count of how many flames I get.

Oh and regarding the revelation about Itachi in the manga? I'm pretending it didn't happen.

So I'm giving you people my best-worst and anticipating yours. Now lets get this disaster rolling shall we?

**WARNING:** Gay love, heterosexual love, transgender love, and threesomes will be in this fic. You have been warned so no complaints that you didn't know what was coming; I'll laugh at you, seriously.

**Disclaimer:** Own Naruto? Oh I wish, then I could tie Itachi up and do as I like to his sexy ass (among other parts of him)

_'thoughts'_ (italics with single quote marks)  
_emphasis_ (just italics)  
**"Kyuubi Speech"  
**_**'Kyuubi Thought'**_

Chapter 1 The Beginning

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A small 6 year old blond boy ran for all he was worth to get away from the group of drunk ninjas chasing after him. He didn't know why the ninjas wanted to hurt him and he was thanking his lucky stars that they were too drunk to move as quickly as they normally would and that the alcohol had impaired their aim so that the majority of kunai, shuriken, and senbon missed him. Every once in a while one of the weapons would hit their mark but the young child simply pulled it out and threw it aside without breaking stride. He saw the Hokage Tower up ahead and put on more speed, knowing that if he could make it to the tower's courtyard he'd be safe.

A few paces away from the courtyard a foot stuck out and tripped him, giving the drunken ninjas the chance they needed to surround the boy. The child looked up into the face of the man who'd tripped him and swore that if he lived he'd make the bastard pay. The gray haired young man sneered at the look of loathing in the boy's eyes and walked away as the drunken shinobi began to beat the boy.

Punches and kicks rained down on the boy, rocks were thrown at his small form, knives slashed into his flesh, and epithets were screamed at him. They called him monster, freak, murderer, and demon. Somehow the words hurt just as much, if not more than, the blows. They spat on him and just as one ninja was about to plunge a kunai into the boy's heart, an ANBU in a dog mask with silver hair stepped in and beat the drunken idiots away from the boy.

The ANBU crouched down and gently lifted the boy into his arms then dashed towards the hospital wing of the Hokage tower. The child whimpered in fear and the ANBU spoke softly, "Shhh, I've got you kid. You're safe with me."

The boy began slipping out of consciousness. _'Safe? What's that?'_

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The boy woke to an angry voice yelling outside the room he was in.

"This has gone too far Hokage-sama! He was almost killed for the twelfth time!"

"What would you have me do Kakashi? The orphanage evicted him and the council won't let me assign him a permanent ANBU guard."

"Then I'll quit ANBU and take him in as my ward."

"You realize what that will mean for your lifestyle correct?"

"Yes and I don't care."

A sigh then, "Very well, I'll start the paperwork as soon as he wakes up."

The boy got tired of listening to the conversation on the other side of the door and whistled loudly since his throat was too dry for him to get any volume behind a shout. The door opened to reveal the 3rd Hokage and a tall, silver haired, masked man who wore his hitai-ate slanted over one eye. The Hokage walked to the bed, "Hello Naruto-kun. How do you feel?"

Naruto rasped, "Thirsty."

The masked man poured a cup of water and passed it to the boy who sucked it down quick as a flash. Naruto wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, "Thanks oji-san."

The man raised his visible eyebrow, "Maa I'm not that old Naruto-kun."

The child shrugged, "Nii-san then. Ne Hokage-jiji when can I get out of this hospital?"

The Sandaime sighed, "Naruto you just got beaten rather badly."

Naruto held out his arms, "I'm all better now, see."

Sarutobi shook his head, knowing that Naruto would escape from the hospital if he was made to stay very long, "Very well Naruto, you can go home tomorrow."

"Yatta," Naruto glomped the old man briefly then pulled back to bounce in place on the bed.

The old man ruffled Naruto's hair with a chuckle, "Now I need to get back to the office but first I want to know if you'd like to live with Kakashi here?"

Naruto studied the masked man closely but didn't see any malice, "I guess I can give it a try."

"Alright then. You rest for today and I'll see you tomorrow."

Naruto watched the Hokage walk out followed by Kakashi, "Bye."

Once the door closed behind them, Naruto flopped back onto his bed. Keeping a facade of energetic cheerfulness was exhausting when all you wanted to do was sleep and he was still a little sore from the beating. He curled up on his side and dropped off into sleep.

ENTER MINDSCAPE

Naruto looked around the place he suddenly found himself in. It looked like a sewer only without the garbage and hideous smell. He heard soft sobs coming from a hallway and followed the sound to a large space occupied by a huge golden gate. He looked around and realized the sobs came from behind the bars. He walked up to the gate and looked into the inky darkness to see a large furry form curled up and shaking.

"Hey you okay?"

A head shot up and whirled towards Naruto, who was got the impression of large ears and a long snout before the tears running down from dark red eyes caught his attention. As he stared the creature crept closer to the bars of the gate to sniff at the boy. He reached out and touched the nose of the creature, "Who're you?"

**"Kyuubi no Yoko. You are Uzumaki Naruto?"**

"Uh-huh. So your a fox?"

The fox nodded and Naruto frowned, "Why were you crying?"

A few more tears fell from the fox's eyes, **"Because the beatings you endure are my fault little  
kit."**

Naruto blinked, "Why would they be your fault?"  
**  
"Six years ago I attacked Konoha and in order to stop me the 4th Hokage gave up his own life to seal me inside a newborn baby, you. Now the villagers believe that you are me and hold you responsible for the loss of their loved ones."**

Naruto stood stock still, "So the reason they hate me is because of you?"

The fox nodded and ducked it's head to avoid Naruto's gaze as it began crying again. Naruto stared at the Kyuubi then dashed between the bars to hug the fox's muzzle, "Don't cry Kyuubi-san."

The fox jolted and stared at the child who was trying to comfort the demon, **"Why aren't you yelling at me? Why do you not hate me? I am the cause of your suffering."**

"But you didn't ask to be sealed inside me and you don't make the villagers hurt me and you're crying for me. No one's ever cared enough to cry for me."

The fox marveled at the tiny creature clinging to it's muzzle. Never had the Kyuubi met someone such as this child who was not only courageous enough to approach a demon but who held such inner strength and compassion. _**'What blind fools these humans are to ignore such a soul as this boy.'**_

Naruto pet the fox's muzzle, "Ne is your name Kyuubi or is that just a title, like Hokage?"

The fox smiled at the intelligent question, **"It is a title kit. My name is Benihime."**

"So you're a girl?"

Benihime chuckled, **"Yes little one I am a vixen."**

Naruto yawned widely, "Your name suits you."

The fox used a tail to lift Naruto into a nest created out of her other tails, **"You're tired little one, sleep. We will talk more another time."**

Naruto snuggled into the warm, fluffy tails and did as the vixen bid.

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Hours later, Naruto stretched and opened his eyes to an expanse of dark red orange fur, "You're a pretty color."

The fox made a pleased sound, **"Thank you kit."**

"Ne Benihime-sama why'd you attack Konoha?"

She sighed, **"I honestly don't know kit. Something called me here and then unlocked my demon bloodlust."**

"Demon bloodlust?"

**"Mmm, all demons have a lust for blood and destruction from birth. The lesser demons never learn how to suppress the bloodlust while the stronger demons eventually gain control of their bloodlust. The stronger the demon, the stronger their bloodlust and the more powerful their control."**

"So you're the strongest demon right?"

**"The strongest still of this world yes. Those stronger than me transcended their bloodlust entirely, becoming tenshi."**

"Cool."

She chuckled, **"Very cool little kit."**

"How come you call me kit?"

**"A kit is a baby or child fox and since you are a child you are a kit to me."**

"Oh. Did you ever have kits of your own?"

**"No I never found a mate strong enough to bear young with. Why?"**

Naruto pressed his face into her fur, "C-could you pretend that I'm your kit?"

Benihime blinked then nuzzled the boy, **"Little one you have been my kit from the moment I was sealed within you, I don't have to pretend."**

Naruto clung tighter to her fur and began crying, letting all of the pain, fear, and sorrow of the lonely years without someone to care for him flow out with his tears. Benihime shifted to her humanoid form and wrapped her arms around the blond boy, rocking him and murmuring soothing words. Once his tears had subsided he pulled back to blink owlishly at the butt-naked fox woman holding him, "Benihime-kaa-san?"

**"That's right kit."**

The little boy blushed and looked away, "Uh is there anyway for you to, um get dressed?"

Benihime, glanced down at herself and chuckled before snapping her fingers and clothing herself in a dark burgundy kimono, **"Better kit?"**

He looked at her, "Hai okaa-san."

He took in her features, she had milk pale skin, blood red lips that echoed her eye color, long dark red orange hair and fox ears where a human's ears would normally be. Her nine sinuous tails waved lazily behind her, "Wow you're really pretty okaa-san."

She smiled and ruffled his hair, **"Thank you kit."**

Naruto sat on her lap and played with a strand of her hair and she combed her clawed fingers through his blond locks.

**"Kit what do you want out of life?"**

Naruto looked up at her, "You mean like my dreams and stuff?"

She nodded and he looked of into the distance, "Well I want to be loved and have friends. I want respect. And I want to be strong enough to protect the people I love."

Benihime nuzzled his hair, **"You are loved kit, by me and one day you will have others who love you. As for strength, I can train you in all I know and with strength will come respect."**

"You'll train me? Really?"

**"Really kit. It won't be easy and sometimes you may get hurt but the end result will be worth it."**

"Then train me okaa-san, teach me everything you can."

She pet his hair, **"Time enough for that later, for now you have to return to the outside world."**

"But I like it here."

**"I know little one but you need to face the outside to get what you want."**

"Okay."

She smiled at his petulant tone and sent him back to the waking world.

OUT OF MINDSCAPE

Naruto blinked and sat up to face the morning. He jolted when he saw Kakashi sleeping in a chair near the bed, "Ano Nii-san?"

Kakashi woke instantly, "Yes Naruto?"

"Why're you sleeping in the chair?"

"Well I wanted to check on you before I went home and I started reading a book and fell asleep."

**"Considering the fact that there aren't any books in the room and none in his hands, that is a truly lame excuse. Though I do approve of him watching over you."**

Naruto jumped when he heard Benihime's voice in his head. _'Okaa-san was that you?'_

**"Of course kit."**

_'So I can talk to you even when I'm not in there with you?'_

**"That's right but for now pay attention to the masked whelp."**

_'Hai.'_ Naruto blinked at Kakashi who had a hand on Naruto's forehead.

"Hmm no fever. You alright Naruto-kun? You spaced out there for a minute."

"Yeah I'm fine. Hey I can go home today right?!"

"As soon a Hokage-sama comes yes."

Naruto started bouncing in place, this time his happiness genuine and he began to rattle off questions, "So your a ninja right? How long have you been one? What's your rank? I bet you know some real cool jutsu. Do you think you could teach me ninja stuff? What's your place like? Do you like ramen? I love it. What's your favorite color? Mine's orange. Do you have any pets?"

"Whoa there kiddo and give me a chance to answer. Yes I'm a ninja. I've been one for fifteen years, my rank is jonin, yes I know a lot of jutsus, I'll teach you if you want me to, I live in an apartment with two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living area, and a kitchen, I'm okay with ramen, don't really have a favorite color, and I don't have any pets but one of my summons might show up from time to time."

"Summons?"  
"I'll show you," Kakashi bit his thumb for a bit of blood, went through a series of hand signs, placed his hand on Naruto's bed, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"  
There was a puff of smoke and when it cleared a pug was sitting on Naruto's bed. The dog looked around and then settled his gaze on Kakashi, "Well why did you summon me Kakashi?"

Naruto face-faulted, "Cool he talks!"

The pug turned to Naruto, "Of course I talk, I'm a summon dog not a pet."

Naruto shrugged, "I didn't even know what a summon dog is, actually I still don't. Ne what's your name inu-san?"

Kakashi patted Naruto's shoulder, "His name is Pakkun. A summon animal is an animal you can summon to help you fight or carry out a task once you've signed a summoning contract."

"So they're like partners?"

"That's right. Each summon has a different personality and attitude. Pakkun for example doesn't like being summoned just for demonstration purposes and tends to be grouchy and snippy when that happens."

Pakkun grumbled and Naruto reached out to pet his head, "Thanks for coming Pakkun-san."

Naruto's fingers hit a particular spot behind the dog's ear that had the pug leaning into his touch. The dog got a hold of himself and shook his head, "Whatever kid," and poofed away. Kakashi chuckled at Naruto's confused expression, "That's his way of saying you're welcome."

"Oh, okay."

Just then the Hokage came into the room and Naruto launched himself at the elderly leader, glomping him. The Sandaime chuckled and ruffled Naruto's hair. The boy pulled back and scrunched up his face, "Why does everyone _do_ that?"

Kakashi mimicked the 3rd's action, "Because we can't resist."

Naruto stuck out his tongue at the jonin then turned back to the Hokage, "I can leave now right?"

"Yes Naruto you can go. Your things are already at Kakashi's apartment so all you have to do when you get there is unpack and settle in."

Naruto jumped up in the air with a whoop, grabbed Kakashi's hand and pulled the man out the door, "What're we waiting for, let's go!"

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Naruto's cheerfulness lasted until they reached the more populated areas of the village, where people's gazes were cold and hard and their whispers vicious. The boy plastered himself against Kakashi's leg and ducked his head to avoid the villager's gazes. Kakashi was about to turn and snarl at one particularly cruel woman but Naruto tugged on his hand and mumbled against his leg, "Don't, it'll just make it worse. Sides, they don't know any better."

The silver haired man looked down at Naruto gently then scooped him up and perched the boy on his shoulders, "Now you can look down on them."

Naruto jolted at the sudden sensation of being up so high then relaxed and folded his arms on top of Kakashi's head with a quiet laugh. They arrived at the apartment and Kakashi lifted the blond off his shoulders and set him on the ground before unlocking the door. Naruto followed the jonin into the apartment craning his head to look around.

There was a shelf next to the door for shoes and an old beat up dingy gray couch in front of a TV in the living area. Weapons, scrolls, and training equipment were scattered all over the place along with the occasional empty TV dinner box. Naruto wrinkled his nose, kept his shoes on and shuffled to the kitchen, which wasn't much better. The only difference between the kitchen and the living area was that Naruto swore he saw cobwebs in the cabinets. He looked over his shoulder at Kakashi placing something in a room that was even worse than the living area. _'Man what a slob.'_

The jonin looked at the boy and saw the disgusted and slightly pitying expression on his face and blushed under his mask.

"Uh your room is over here."

He opened the door to a thankfully barren room, the only things in here were boxes containing Naruto's belongings and a dusty sheetless bed. Kakashi cleared his throat, "Hm I guess we'll have to go shopping tomorrow for sheets and stuff kiddo."

Naruto nodded and looked at Kakashi, "Where's the bathroom Kaka-nii?"

The man pointed out a door and Naruto peeked his head in and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the bathroom was sparkling clean and grabbed one of the used towels out of the hamper, taking it to his room to wipe the bed free of dust. He finished and dropped the towel back into the hamper then went looking for Kakashi.

The jonin was in the kitchen with a garbage bag dumping the empty dinner carton into it. Naruto almost giggled at the man's discomfited movements and went to help.

They managed to get the apartment basically clean (i.e. you can see the floor) by lunch time and Kakashi suggested that they go out to eat. Naruto immediately requested Ichiraku ramen and the jonin chuckled before agreeing.

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They got to the stand and saw a chunin with brown hair and a scar across his nose sitting at the noodle bar. Kakashi led Naruto over to the chunin, "Hello Iruka-sensei."

The chunin jumped and whirled with a stern glare, "Hatake-san how many times do I have to ask you not to creep up on me?"

"Until I listen."

The brunette humphed and looked down at Naruto. His eyes widened with surprise when he recognized the boy then slid into neutrality as he turned back to Kakashi, "What are you of all people doing with a child?"

"This is Naruto, he's my ward as of today."

Iruka's eyes widened again and he grimaced with sympathy, "He's living with _you_? He'll die of unsanitary conditions before the week is out."

"Maa Iruka-sensei my apartment isn't _that_ bad."

Iruka's snort was echoed by Naruto and the chunin heard the boy mutter something about seeing smaller rats at the village dump. His mouth twitched and he gave Kakashi a speaking look, "The last and only time I was at your place I stepped in someone's science experiment that you said was last week's dinner."

Kakashi cleared his throat, "Erm yes well, do you happen to know of any good places to shop for sheets and things?"

"Let me guess, you didn't think to prepare for a child did you," only silence met the statement and Iruka sighed, "I do know of a few places but don't you have a mission tomorrow?"

Kakashi cursed as he remembered that little bit of information and Naruto looked a bit crestfallen. He'd been looking forward to shopping without having to worry about being chased out. Iruka took in the boy's disappointment and his marshmallow heart drove him to say, "I'll take him shopping tomorrow while you're on the mission."

Naruto's head shot up and he looked at Iruka with shiny hopeful eyes, "Really?"

Iruka nodded, "Really."

"Yatta!" Naruto caught Iruka in a fierce hug, "Thank you thank you thank you thank you."

And just like that any wariness or resentment Iruka felt towards the Kyuubi vessel disappeared and he pat the boy on the back, "You're welcome Naruto-kun."

The boy let go of Iruka and sat next to him at the noodle bar and Kakashi perched on his other side as the boy called out, "Oi old man can I have some miso pork ramen?!"

Teuchi smiled at the boy and called out, "Ayame some miso pork ramen for our favorite customer!"

"Hai tou-chan. Hello Naruto-kun."

"Hiya Ayame-nee. Ne Iruka-san why'd Kaka-nii call you Iruka-sensei?"

"Because I teach at the ninja academy."

"There's a ninja academy?"

Iruka blinked in surprise, "Yes, I'd assumed that you were enrolled since the minimum entry age is five."

"I never even heard of a ninja academy."

Iruka frowned and made a mental note to look into that as Kakashi told Naruto that he'd be enrolling him in the academy in a week. The ramen arrived and conversation turned to what Naruto would need for the academy which led to the discovery that Naruto didn't have more than two shirts and one pair of pants to his name. By the time Kakashi and Naruto left the stand the shopping trip had been extended to include clothes, basic weapon kits, and other child essentials. Kakashi could already hear his bank account whimper and Iruka had a slightly sadistic smirk that sat strangely on his face because he now had a legitimate way to get even with the jonin for not listening to him.

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Naruto ducked behind Iruka when the owner of the clothing and linens store glared at him and started to demand he leave. When the man grabbed Naruto's arm and yanked harshly to extract him from behind the chunin, Iruka caught the man's wrist in a crushing grip, "Naruto-kun is here with me and is under the guardianship of Hatake Kakashi, I would advise caution in how you treat him unless you would like to meet Hatake-san face-to-face," the teacher squeezed to make his point and flung the man's wrist away from him like it was a piece of refuse. He took Naruto's hand gently and led the boy over to the children's section.

When they walked out of the store Iruka carried a bag full of pants, shirts, underwear, socks, sheets, and a hideous orange jumpsuit that he'd argued against vehemently only to subside when Naruto had quietly said, "But if I can hide in it well enough to fool leaf ninja then I can hide well enough in plain clothes to fool anyone."

Now they were going into the ninja outfitter store. The man behind the counter looked at Iruka and smiled, "Umino-san welcome back, looking for some rope for the imps?"

Iruka chuckled, "No Rei-san I'm here to outfit Naruto-kun."

Rei looked down at the blond boy, "Uzumaki Naruto huh?"

Naruto started edging back behind Iruka when the man crouched down and smiled at him, "Well then let's get you measured young man."

Naruto looked up at Iruka, who smiled and nodded that it was okay, and stood still letting the man get his measurements with the tailor's tape. The man measured the length and circumference of Naruto's legs, torso, arms, and hands, marking the centimeters down on a little tablet. Once he finished, he ruffled Naruto's hair, chuckling as the boy smoothed his hair back down with a pout-frown.  
The man went around the racks getting light body armor, body weights, metal mesh clothing, smoke bombs, letter bombs, kunai, shuriken, senbon, a few scrolls on basic jutsus, and other academy necessities. While he gathered the supplies Naruto took to looking at the weapons that were in the glass display cabinets.  
A set of sais caught his attention, they were obviously custom made with blood red handles that had a pattern inlaid that reminded Naruto of fire and the metal they were made of shimmered strangely, they were beautiful and Naruto found himself longing to touch them but he knew that such incredible weapons weren't within his reach.

Iruka and Rei both noticed the boy's intense scrutiny of the sais and looked at each other, a silent agreement passing between them. Rei got a pair of training sais and added them to the other equipment while Iruka paid for all the items with Kakashi's charge card. The chunin called Naruto over as Rei placed everything in a bag, "Naruto-kun how would you like Rei-san to help train you to use various weapons?"

Naruto blinked, "Won't I be learning about stuff like that from Kaka-nii and at the academy?"

"You'll learn basics at the academy and Hatake-san doesn't have a master's knowledge of many different weapons though he knows enough to be able to wield most weapons effectively."

"So Rei-san is a weapons master?"

"That's right."

"And he wants to train me?"

Rei answered, "I'd like very much to train you Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked up at the kind weapons master and smiled, "I need all the help I can get."

Rei chuckled, "Well then I'll talk to Kakashi and once you start at the academy come here every Saturday and I'll teach you how to use weapons. Do you mind if my daughter joins us?"

Naruto shook his head and Rei grinned, "Good, TenTen could use a friend other than a weapons scroll."

Iruka laughed, "Like father like daughter. Well Naruto-kun, let's get you home so we can get your sheets on your bed and all your new things put up."

"Hai, Iruka-san. Bai bai Rei-san!"

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Iruka and Naruto entered the apartment and Iruka blinked in surprise when he saw that there wasn't any garbage littering every surface. Naruto laughed at his flummoxed expression, "We got rid of the junk yesterday."

The chunin nodded and followed Naruto to the boy's room, taking note of the way that weapons and shinobi accessories cluttered on the tables and couch. They neatly organized Naruto's things on a metal bookshelf and made the bed with the bright blue sheets the boy had picked out. Naruto went to the bathroom while Iruka went to try and sit in the living area to wait and start on the paperwork for Naruto's entry to the academy but before he knew it he was organizing all the clutter. He just couldn't help himself, he was a very tidy person and couldn't stand being around clutter.

Naruto stood in the hallway watching Iruka for a moment before joining the brunette in beating back the clutter. From there the two decided that it had been far too long since the apartment had been given a good scrub down and Naruto went to grab the little used cleaning supplies and they got down to chasing all the dirt out.

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Kakashi opened his door around four pm. and quietly said, "Taidama."

His nose twitched as he smelled the telltale scent of pine and lemon. _'Why does it smell like pine and lemon?'_ He went to the living room and gaped at the now tidy apartment then smiled when he saw Iruka and Naruto conked out on the couch.

Iruka was slouched upright with his head flopping back and Naruto was curled up against the brunette, one hand gripping the chunin vest and Iruka's arm was draped protectively over the boy. _'Well they certainly wore themselves out.'_ The jonin went to the kitchen to get something to drink and ended up gawking at the green floor tiles. _'Weren't those gray yesterday? Man the floor _must_ have been dirty.'_ Kakashi shook his head and got some water, rinsing the glass out and putting it back up out of respect for the two neatniks.

He grabbed a blanket from his room closet and covered the two exhausted males with it. _'I have to admit, this is cute.'_ Then Kakashi took out a camera, glad that it was still light out so he didn't need to use the flash, and took a couple pictures of Iruka and Naruto for both blackmail and a good memory.

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Well there it is the first chapter. Let me know what you think. Ja ne!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor any characters thereof nor do I make any money from this fic.

Okay so none of you get confused, the timeline this is based on is that Sasuke was 7 when the clan was massacred and he's currently 6 in the fic so this takes place before Itachi killed the clan.

**"Kyuubi speech"  
**_**'Kyuubi thought'**_  
_'thought'  
emphasis_

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Naruto fidgeted with the hem of his blue t-shirt as he sat at a desk. It was his first day at the academy and he was feeling rather nervous.

**"Calm down kit. I'm sure you'll do fine."**

_'But Kaa-san, what if the other kids hate me cause their parents do?'_

In the recesses of Naruto's mind Kyuubi felt her fur bristle at the thought of the humans passing their hatred onto their offspring but she purred soothingly to Naruto, **"If such comes to pass then you will simply have to do your best in class and offer friendship whenever possible."**

_'M'kay.'_

Kyuubi smiled gently at the uncertain tone in his voice and increased her purring as Iruka entered the classroom and smiled at Naruto before sitting to prepare his lesson plan. The two had become rather close during the past week as the chunin had come over every night to try and teach Kakashi how to cook something other than microwave meals, unfortunately failing but Naruto picked up the cooking process rather well. The brunette would take Naruto with him when he was running errands for himself and would often glare the hostile villagers into silence. Naruto felt protected when Iruka was by his side. In a way that was another reason he was nervous; he knew that Iruka couldn't show him any preferential treatment when class was in session so he was worried that the safety Iruka provided would disappear.

Naruto's head shot up as students filed into the classroom and took their seats. The bell rang and Iruka stood to speak to the class, "Good Morning everyone, I hope you had a good weekend. Today we'll be going over the basic principles of ninjutsu but before we start we have a new student in class. Naruto will you stand up and introduce yourself?"

Naruto stood and smiled nervously, "Hi, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. I'm happy to meet you all."

The class said hello simultaneously and Naruto sat back down as Iruka began the lesson.

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It was lunch time and Naruto was at a picnic table unwrapping the bento he'd made himself this morning when he heard harsh taunting laughter and an upset voice demanding their chips back. Naruto looked towards the sounds and saw a chubby boy with swirl marks on his cheeks being picked on by a group of boys. Naruto frowned and set his bento down, going over to where the boys were.

The leader of the bullies laughed, "Aw is the little fatty baby gonna cry for his chips?"

The jerk threw the bag of chips to one of his cronies on the other side of the chubby boy, who jumped up in an attempt to get the bag, gaining another cruel laugh from the ringleader, "Hey it's almost like monkey in the middle except we're playing with a whale!"

The bully's minions laughed and the bag was thrown towards another one of the little jerks, only to have it intercepted by a tanned hand.

Naruto handed the bag of chips back to the chubby boy and glared at the leader of the bullies, "Don't you have anything better to do with your life than pick on someone?"

"Back off you little pipsqueak. I'll do what I wan- hey where do you think you're going?!"

Naruto had slung and arm around the chubby kid, turned his back on the bullies, and started walking away, leading the chubby boy over to where he'd been sitting before intervening. The blond looked over his shoulder at the bully, "You're not worth my time. Only someone truly weak picks on those who can't defend themselves."

The bully leader clenched his fists and would have attacked Naruto if one of his cronies hadn't reminded him that a fight would get the teacher's attention. Naruto just ignored the jerk and sat down at the picnic table again. He smiled at the chubby boy, "You wanna sit with me?"

The boy nodded and sat, opening his own lunch, "Thanks. It's Naruto right?"

"Yup!"

"I'm Choji. Akamichi Choji. Thanks for helping me."

Naruto waved his hand dismissively, "I can't stand jerks who like to pick on other people. Sides you look like a nice person Choji, it's nice to meetcha."

Choji smiled and shook Naruto's extended hand, "You too. I wish Shikamaru could have been here to see you ignore that jerk."

Naruto casually held out a riceball from his bento to Choji, "Want one? Who's Shikamaru?"

"Thanks," Choji took the riceball, "Shika's my best friend, he got sick and had to stay home today."

"That sucks."

Choji nodded and the two boys fell into conversation, occasionally sharing some of each others bentos, until lunch was over.

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School was over and Naruto was sitting with Choji, who was telling the blond about how he had met Shikamaru, when a large man came to pick up the chubby boy. Choji waved at his father and tugged Naruto over to introduce his new friend to his dad. Chouza listened to how Naruto had defended his son and smiled kindly at the blond boy, "Thank you for helping Choji Naruto-kun. It's nice to know that my son has a new friend."

Naruto blinked as Chouza ruffled his hair then beamed brightly, "It was my pleasure! Choji's a real nice guy."

Chouza chuckled and pat Naruto on the shoulder before he and Choji made their goodbyes. As Naruto watched Choji walk away with his father he felt a little sad until his new friend turned back with a smile and waved, "See you tomorrow Naruto! Let's sit together in class?!"

Naruto waved back with a grin, "Sure! See ya then!"

A hand was laid on Naruto's shoulder and he looked up at Iruka, who smiled, "Ready to go Naruto-kun?"

Naruto nodded happily and Iruka escorted the blond to Kakashi's apartment while Naruto chattered a mile a minute. A few blocks away from the academy, the glares and insults from the villager's were getting to the little blond and he grew quiet, ducking his head and scooting closer to Iruka. The chunin crouched down and told Naruto to get on his back. Once Naruto was clinging to him piggyback style, Iruka jumped to the rooftops and dashed to Kakashi's apartment. Naruto was laughing as he slid down from Iruka's back, having enjoyed the fast run. Iruka ruffled Naruto's hair, chuckling at the pout on the boy's face, "What should I try to teach Kakashi to cook today do you think?"

Naruto grinned as his fears over losing his Iruka-sensei's protection vanished, "How about okonomiyaki?"

"Sounds good. Let's get the ingredients together."

As Naruto hopped to it, Benihime purred in the back of his mind, **"I told you that you would do fine didn't I kit?"**

_'Hai Kaa-san but I couldn't help worrying.'_

**"I understand kit. Pay attention to your sensei now."**

Naruto nodded mentally to his 'mom' and listened closely as Iruka explained the ingredients in the okonomiyaki.

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The next day Naruto was still a little nervous. He wondered if Choji would really want to sit with him or if the boy would change his mind. The classroom door opened and in walked Choji with a boy with dark brown hair pulled up in a ponytail who looked half asleep. Choji grinned when he saw Naruto and pulled the other boy over to where the blond was sitting. Naruto smiled happily,

"Morning Choji!"

"Morning Naruto," Choji pointed at the brunette, "This is Shikamaru, Shika this is Naruto. I told you about him on the way to school today."

Shikamaru yawned, "Uh-huh," he looked at Naruto with sharp piercing eyes totally at odds with his sleepy attitude, "So you helped Choji out yesterday?"

Naruto blinked and nodded. Shikamaru tilted his head made a considering noise and his eyes mellowed and warmed, "Kay then. I guess you're alright."

"Uh thanks?"

Choji laughed, "Don't mind Shika. He just doesn't like to do too much 'cept watch clouds and play Shogi and Go."

Naruto tilted his head in question, "What's Shogi and Go?"

Shikamaru blinked and explained briefly about his favorite games. Naruto got a thoughtful look on his face, "They sound fun. Do...you think you could teach me to play?"

Shikamaru yawned again, "Whatever."

Naruto looked to Choji, who smiled, "That's Shika speak for 'yes'."

Naruto grinned and started talking with Choji, Shikamaru occasionally voicing his opinion, until class started.

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The week had passed mostly uneventfully and it was after school on Saturday. Naruto was dashing towards Rei's home for his first weapons lesson. Iruka had to grade papers and couldn't escort him so the blond was trying to get there as fast as possible so he wouldn't attract too much attention from the villagers. Just as he was running past a lake he heard a soft sniffle and stopped in his tracks. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a boy about his age with spikey jet black hair sitting on a dock hugging his knees. Naruto heard the boy give a soft sob and made his way down to the boy, "Ano? Are you okay?"

The boy whirled around and Naruto found himself caught by deep black eyes that shone with sadness, "W-what do you want?"

"I heard you crying. What's wrong?"

The raven haired boy's lip trembled, "My father doesn't love me, he only loves my nii-san."

Naruto sat beside the boy and gently put an arm around him, "Are you sure?"

The boy nodded and told Naruto about how his father never praised him or helped him train and spent all his time with his brother. Naruto hugged the boy, "But have you ever asked him? Maybe he doesn't know how much you want him to spend some time with you."

The boy looked up at Naruto with surprised, thoughtful eyes still shiny with tears, "Y-you think so?"

Naruto nodded and the raven rubbed at his eyes, "T-then I will. I'll ask him."

Naruto watched the boy stand and start to dash off only to pause and turn back towards him, "Hey what's your name?"

"Naruto."

"I'm Sasuke. Thanks Naruto."

Then the raven disappeared over the hill and Naruto remembered his appointment with Rei and surged to his feet running as fast as he could in order not to be late.

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He made it to the backyard dojo but only by the skin of his teeth. Rei watched with amusement as Naruto bent over panting from his mad dash, "What happened that you had to run all the way not to be late Naruto-kun?"

"Boy...crying...lake...had to...help."

Rei raised an eyebrow at the broken sentence but he caught the meaning well enough, "Alright then Naruto-kun. Catch your breath and I'll set things up."

Naruto nodded and watched Rei set up practice dummys until he could breathe normally again. Rei smiled as he saw Naruto straighten, "Okay let me call my daughter and we'll get started," he went to the house door and yelled, "TenTen! Naruto-kun is here!"

Naruto heard a grumble and soon a girl about a year older than him with short brown hair was stomping towards them. She stopped in front of her father and crossed her arms over her chest, "Why do _I_ have to be here? I've already learned this."

Rei sighed in exasperation, "Because it never hurts to go back over what you've learned and you need to socialize with other children."

The girl snorted, "Why bother all the other girls are a bunch of silly Hyuga fans and the guys either have the brains of a jellyfish or are snotty little jerks."

Rei shook his head, his daughter did not have a very high opinion of her peers and that could be bad for her growth as a ninja. He put his hands on his hips and looked down at his little girl, "Believe what you like but if you make Naruto-kun upset you'll be doing laps with added weight until bedtime."

"What's so special about this kid that you're training him? You never do that."

Rei smiled, "You'll see my little one. Naruto-kun come here and meet my daughter."

Naruto approached with his head ducked shyly, making TenTen roll her eyes as Rei introduced them. The blond smiled and held out his hand, "Nice to meet you TenTen-san."

TenTen humphed and ignored his hand, "Whatever blondie."

Naruto lowered his hand with a slight crestfallen expression and looked up at Rei, who was frowning at his daughter.

"Rei-san?"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry Naruto-kun I let my mind wander. Are you wearing your weights?"

Naruto nodded and pointed at each of the five weights, "Uh-huh. I've got ten pounds in each weight."

Both Rei and TenTen's eyebrows shot up in surprise and the girl eyed Naruto with a little more respect. Rei nodded, "Okay we'll start with stretches."

Rei showed Naruto the stretches and watched with a sharp eye as the boy and TenTen both began stretching. Every once in a while TenTen would rudely point out a flaw in Naruto's form but the boy just thanked the girl, corrected it, and continued while Rei frowned at his daughter in disapproval. _'She's acting just as snotty as she says the Hyuga boy does. I'm going to have to have a talk with her tonight.'_

Once the round of stretches were completed, Rei retrieved some equipment and began to explain what the equipment was and how to train with it, "Alright these are-"

TenTen tuned her father out in favor of observing the blond boy who was paying rapt attention to Rei's explanation. _'Well he's not a too-good-for-you snot like Neji. He's probably dumber than a bag of rocks though.' _TenTen noticed her father wind up his lecture and took a position to begin training as Rei showed Naruto the proper stance and grip on the equipment. The girl was certain that Naruto was going to be a big hindrance to her own training and was slightly jealous of the fact that he was getting attention from her father. This prompted her to mock Naruto when he made a mistake and she was too preoccupied by her pettiness to notice that her father was getting angry. But neither one of them noticed that Naruto himself was getting irritated.

Naruto made a mistake in footing that overbalanced him and he went crashing face first to the ground. TenTen started laughing at him, "You have no talent at all do you? You're so weak that you should just give up trying to be a ninja and be the village idiot."

Before Rei could reprimand his daughter, Naruto surged to his feet and faced TenTen furiously, "Shut up! I'm not going to give up just because you say so! I hope you're not always such a mean snotty little girl cause if you are you're gonna be alone all your life and, believe me, being alone sucks. Now if you can't say anything nice then just keep your mouth _shut_! That or go away."

TenTen stood gaping at Naruto in shock as he started training again. He'd just told her that she was acting like the thing she hated the most and she blushed in shame as she realized that he was right, she was being a snot. She shuffled over to him and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. He turned slightly and tilted his head in question. She looked down at the ground, "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be such a jerk. I just...didn't want to share my dad."

Naruto blinked, then he grinned and scratched the back of his head, "Ah it's okay, I shouldn't have blown up at you. If I had a dad as cool as yours I wouldn't wanna share him either."

TenTen looked up at him and smiled a bit at how his grin made his whole face light up. She reached out a hand and ruffled his hair, turning the grin into a pout, "Aw man not you too!"

Rei laughed at TenTen's confused expression and Naruto running his fingers through his hair while grumbling about 'people's weird obsession with messing with my hair'.

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The next day found Naruto at the park watching a murder of crows pester a hawk. He smiled as they chased the hawk off and settled back down. A voice suddenly murmered, "Pathetic."

Naruto jumped and whirled to see an older boy looking in the direction that the hawk had flown. The boy had long black hair and pale skin and a disdainful look on his face that had Naruto asking, "How come it's pathetic?"

The older boy turned his head to look at Naruto with seemingly empty black eyes, "A mighty predator who is supposed to rule the skies was defeated by a common rabble."

Naruto tilted his head, "Huh that's not how I see it."

The older boy raised an eyebrow as Naruto looked up at the crows the sun lighting his face so that he seemed to glow from the inside, "The way I see it is that even though the hawk was stronger and bigger the crows banded together to protect each other, risking their own lives for everyone's safety. They beat the hawk cause they worked together, no one was more important than the other. I see that if the 'common rabble' work together they can become stronger than what they face. It's just like the village, what makes us strong is fighting for others."

The older boy stared at Naruto as if he'd just dropped from the sky, "And what happens when one puts themselves first?"

Naruto pointed at a clump of black feathers that was completely still, "He tried to abandon his friends and the hawk got him."

Naruto turned his face back to the older boy and saw a vulnerability in the dark eyes as he stared at the fallen crow. Naruto followed an impulse and hugged the older boy, making the black eyes widen in surprise. The older boy looked down at the blond, "Why are you hugging me?"

"Because you looked lonely and no one in Konoha should be lonely since we're all a part of each other."

The older boy relaxed, crouched down so he was face to face with Naruto, and smiled slightly, "Thank you."

"For the hug?"

"For that and so much more little one."

"Huh?"

"Perhaps I will tell you one day," the older boy stood and ruffled Naruto's hair and disappeared in a cloud of jutsu smoke as Naruto whined about another person messing with his hair.

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Naruto was walking home after school. Iruka had been called to a meeting and hadn't been able to walk with him. As the blond rounded a corner, he saw a little girl with pink hair hugging herself tightly. _'Hey that's Haruno Sakura. Why's she all alone? She and that Ino girl are always hanging out together.' _He walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder, "Sakura-san?"

She jumped and faced him, "Naruto?"

"Whatcha doing here without Ino?"

She ducked her head, "I just told Ino that we couldn't be friends anymore."

Naruto's jaw dropped, "What? Why?"

"We like the same boy so that means we can't be friends."

"Why not?"

She looked at him as if his brain had leaked out of his ears, "Because we're rivals in love duh!"

" So? That doesn't mean you can't be friends too. Is a boy really _that_ important that you'd give up your best friend? What if he doesn't choose either one of you? Then you'd have lost a friend for nothing."

Sakura blinked, paled, and whispered, "I didn't think of that," she turned suddenly wet green eyes on Naruto, "What do I do Naruto?"

He grabbed her wrist gently, "Where's Ino at?"

"She was sitting on a bench at the park when I left her, the one near the playground."

He began tugging her along, "Then let's hurry. She's probably still there. You can apologize and ask if she'll still be your friend."

Sakura looked at him in surprise as they ran. She'd never have expected a boy to be so nice to her over this and even be willing to help her. She was absolutely certain that even her crush, who was the height of all things a prince charming should be, would have just told her to get over it and move on.

They arrived at the playground and saw Ino still sitting on the bench looking shellshocked. Sakura dashed over to her, "Ino-chan!"

The blond girl's head shot up and she stiffened as Sakura came closer, "What do you want now?"

Sakura threw herself at Ino catching her in a tight hug, "I'm so sorry! I never should have even thought that a boy was more important that our friendship. Can you ever forgive me Ino-chan?"

Ino trembled as she pulled back a bit to look at Sakura, "Why'd you do it in the first place?"  
Sakura looked at the ground ashamedly, "Cause I thought we'd fight so much over Sasuke-kun that we'd end up hating each other and I didn't want to see you start hating me."

Ino hugged Sakura fiercely, "You little idiot. I'd never hate you cause of a boy. I kept quiet about how I like Sasuke cause you like him too and I didn't want to hurt you."

"I'm sorry Ino-chan. You must really hate me now."

Ino shook her head, "Uh-uh no way. You messed up but even I do that. We're still friends Sakura-chan."

Sakura laughed and hugged Ino tighter, "I'm so glad you still want to be my friend!"

Ino chuckled, "What made you change your mind anyway?"

Sakura pulled back from the hug, "Naruto-kun asked me if a boy was really more important than my best friend. And I realized that the answer was _NO_."

"Naruto-kun?"

Sakura pointed to the blond boy who was bent over studying a rock, giving the girls their privacy. Ino blinked as she recognized him, "Hey that's the boy who hangs out with Shikamaru and Choji," she dashed over to him and tapped him on the shoulder, "Oi blondie."

He stood and faced her, "Yes?"

"You made Sakura think twice about not being friends with me anymore?"

He scratched the back of his head, "Well I don't know about that but I did ask her if a boy who might not choose either one of you was worth losing a best friend when I saw her looking kinda sad."

Ino stared at him until he started feeling uncomfortable, then she glomped him, "Thank you! If you hadn't I could have lost my bestest friend in the world!"

Sakura smiled and hugged him from behind, her arms crossing over Ino's, "Yeah thank you Naruto-kun. You kept me from being _really_ stupid."

Naruto stood stock still in shock, "Uh you're welcome?"

The girls let him go and Ino eyed him again, "You're friends with Shika and Choji right?"

He nodded, "You know them Ino-san?"

She rolled her eyes, "Oh yeah do I ever. Their parents and ours are old friends so the three of us have grown up together."

Sakura came around to exchange a look with Ino and she smiled at Naruto, "You and they eat together and spend recess together right?"

He eyed them warily, "Uh-huh."

The girls smiled and Ino said, "Then Sakura-chan and I will be joining you guys from now on."

Naruto knew better than to seem even slightly adverse to that pronouncement so he nodded, told them okay, walked them home, and went home himself, head spinning over the day's unexpected events.

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Naruto had just finished his Saturday training with Rei and TenTen and had decided to stop by another training ground to get another workout in before going home. He blinked as he saw a boy with black hair and eyebrows that looked like caterpillars kicking and punching one of the training logs with a fierce determination. Suddenly a piece of wood splintered off the log and embedded into the boy's leg. As the boy yelled in slight pain and his leg gave way, Naruto dashed forward in concern, "Are you okay?! Here let me see."

He crouched down and inspected the small piece of wood in the boy's leg. He looked up at the boy with the bushy eyebrows, "I think that maybe we should get an adult to help with this. Are your parents home?"

The boy ducked his head, "I have no parents."

Naruto nodded, "Okay then, my guardian should be home so we'll go there."

The boy nodded and Naruto slung his arm around the boy's waist while looping the boy's arm around his neck, "Kay lean on me and we'll get there one step at a time."

"Thank you."

"No problem. What's your name?"

"Rock Lee and you?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you Lee. Even if the way we met kinda sucks."

Lee chuckled, "Yes."

Limping step by limping step they made it to Kakashi's apartment where Iruka flung the door open and glared at Naruto, "Where have you been young ma- oh dear what happened?!"

The chunin dashed forward and picked Lee up, carrying him into the apartment while Naruto followed and Kakashi watched amusedly. The brunette tossed a look at Kakashi, "Go get a first aid kit. Naruto how'd Lee get hurt?"

Naruto explained what he'd seen and Iruka shook his head at Lee while he removed the sliver of wood and cleaned the wound, "Lee you should know better than to train by yourself this late ."

Lee waved his hands frantically, "But sensei, I must prove to others that I can be a ninja even though I can not use genjutsu or ninjutsu and to do that I must work hard!"

Iruka scowled, "You won't become a ninja if you bleed to death. This was a minor injury but the wood could have easily hit a major blood vessel."

Lee hung his head, "But no one wishes to train with the class 'dobe' Iruka-sensei."

Iruka's eyes softened but before he could say anything Naruto spoke up, "I'll train with you."

Lee looked up at Naruto, "Really?"

"Yup! I've started training until sundown after school and I bet Rei-san and TenTen-chan would be happy to have you join us on Saturdays."

Iruka smiled as he finished bandaging Lee's leg and the boy grabbed Naruto to give him a strong hug, "Thank you Naruto-san!"

Kakashi chuckled, "You know since I train Naruto on Sundays I think I have a...friend who would join us and who you would greatly benefit from training with. If you'd like to join us that is?"

The answer was of course a resounding yes that had Kakashi chuckling and Iruka smiled as Naruto asked if Lee could stay for dinner.

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Naruto eyed the man in front of him. He was like an adult version of Lee and wore a hideous green spandex outfit and called himself the 'Green Beast'. He was currently waxing poetic about the 'power of youth' or some such nonsense that went right over Naruto's head as the blond boy focused on the man's eyebrows. _'Sheesh talk about mega-brows. They're almost alive.'_

**"You're not kidding kit. It's almost like you expect them to leap off his face and smother an opponent."**

_'Ew! Kaa-san why'd you put that in my head?!'_

**"Sorry kit but that's what it looks like."**

Naruto shook his head, knowing that the image would be stuck in his head for a while. He looked over at Lee and noticed the boy's rapt expression as the 'Green Beast' smiled and gave them a thumbs-up saying something about getting to work to let their youthful flames burn bright. Kakashi sighed, "Boys this is Maito Gai, a fellow jonin who is Konoha's taijutsu specialist. He knows over 98 different styles of taijutsu and has a hard work ethic that would kill most people. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Gai gave the boys a happy look, "As my rival said I believe that with hard work you can accomplish anything no matter what the odds are."

Naruto perked up at hearing one of his own beliefs echoed by a jonin, a weird jonin but a jonin nonetheless. Gai began explaining that he would be teaching Lee the Goken and Hsing taijutsu styles and Naruto the Shorin Ryu and Uechi Ryu styles of Karate and he would teach both of them Jeet Kune Do. As Gai gave demonstrations of each style, Naruto and Lee both got a gleam in their eyes that Gai would call 'the flame of youth' but Kakashi would label as pure eagerness and determination. The boys exchanged a mutually challenging look and threw themselves into training.

Kakashi looked down on the boys with sympathy, they were staggeringly tired and Gai was still pushing them. He was about to intervene when Naruto shot him a 'stay out of it until one of us pass out' look. The copy ninja held up his hands in resignation, inwardly impressed with the way the boys were pushing their limits. Finally, Lee passed out and after Naruto assured himself that his friend was okay, Gai carried Lee to the boy's abode. Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow, "Back or arms?"

Naruto smiled, "Back," then passed out.

Kakashi settled the boy on his back and went home, futilely hoping that Iruka hadn't waited around to see if Naruto survived training with Gai. Poor naive jonin.

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Naruto stretched as he walked away from the training field. He and Lee had sparred and then proceeded to drive themselves into the ground until common sense reminded them that they didn't have a sensei to carry them home if they passed out this time. Naruto didn't feel like going home just yet so he wandered around the less populated areas of Konoha. As he passed a huge compound he saw a girl his age being yelled at by an older woman. The girl hung her head and flinched every once in a while as if the words were blows. Naruto crept closer to eavesdrop and his eyes widened at what he heard.

"You're pathetic! Why do we of the branch house have to bow down to such weak filth as you?! You should have been killed at birth to prevent such a stain on the name of the Hyuga! Why are you alive while my son is dead?!"

The girl didn't look up but she spoke quietly, "I-I am sorry for your loss Himiko-san b-but I had nothing to do with that."

The woman's face clouded with rage and he drew back her hand and slapped the girl so hard she fell to the ground, "Don't give me that you little bitch! You are the heir of the clan, you and the rest of the main house are _all_ responsible!"

The woman stood over the trembling girl and withdrew a kunai, "I have lost my son, my husband, and my daughter to the main house. It is time for the main house to lose something to me!"  
The girl closed her eyes tightly as the woman brought the kunai down, expecting to feel the metal drive into her. She heard metal strike flesh and felt the warm wet spray of blood but no pain. She opened her eyes to see a blond boy standing between her and the murderous older woman. The kunai had been driven into the top of his shoulder and the woman who had been wielding it jumped back in shock at the sight of the boy.

"Get out of my way boy!"

Naruto shook his head, "No. I'm not going to let you kill her because you want to blame someone for your son's death."

The woman grit her teeth and shoved him out of her way, reaching a hand towards the girl only for Naruto to leap back up and grab her arm in a death grip. She stretched her other arm out to strike the girl and Naruto sank his teeth into her wrist. She kicked at him, yelling and trying to throw him off her. She managed to free the arm he wasn't biting and lifted her hand to snap his neck only to find her own neck in the grip of the clan head.

She rolled her eyes to the furious features of the man, "L-lord Hiashi!"

He narrowed his eyes and hissed at her, "How _dare_ you attack my daughter!"

Hiashi twisted and snapped the neck of the woman before turning to the boy he'd seen defending his baby girl so fiercely. Naruto had released the woman's wrist as soon as he'd realized that the man was there to help, taken the kunai out of his shoulder, and was now kneeling next to the girl asking if she was alright.

The girl fluttered then exclaimed, "I-I should be asking you that! Y-you're _bleeding_."

He grinned, "Aw it's just a scratch."

The girl looked up as he father crouched down to pick up her blond savior. The man grunted, "A bit more than a scratch young man."

"Where are you taking me?"

"To my clan's personal medical clinic."

"Oh, okay," and he fainted from blood loss much to the distress of the girl.

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Naruto woke to see the worried face of the girl he'd helped. She fluttered about and settled on the edge of the bed he was in, "A-are you alright?"

He levered himself up, "Yeah I'm okay. Are _you_ okay?"

"Y-yes. Thank you for saving me."

"I didn't save you, I was just a distraction til the calvary got there. I'm Naruto by the way."

She took his hand timidly, "M-my name is Hinata and y-you _did_ save me."

He chuckled sheepishly, "Well I'm glad I could help an angel out."

She blushed a brilliant red and he heard a chuckle from the doorway.

He and Hinata looked to see Hiashi standing there. Hinata scrambled to her feet and looked at the floor, "Tou-san."

Hiashi looked down at his daughter and sighed. He just didn't know what to do when she acted so timid with him. Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion, "How come you don't hug her?"

Hiashi blinked at the boy, "I beg your pardon?"

"Well if I was her I'd want my dad to give me a hug and tell me that everything'll be alright."

Hiashi looked between the boy and his daughter and suddenly realized why his baby was always so unsure around him; he never showed her any affection beyond encouragement that could be taken as criticism. He bowed his head and picked up his daughter, "Hinata why are you ashamed?"

"B-because I c-couldn't protect myself a-and Naruto-kun got hurt because of me."

Hiashi stroked her hair, "Hinata of course you couldn't protect yourself. Himiko was much older and more experienced than you. You are strong for your age but you are still a child. And though he was hurt I am very grateful that Naruto was there because if he hadn't been I would have lost my precious little girl."

Hinata burrowed into her father's embrace and started crying. Hiashi just rocked her as he hadn't done since she was a baby and made a vow to make certain that she knew that no matter what she would always be loved.

As Hinata calmed down, a sudden commotion was heard from outside the door and Naruto murmured, "Uh-oh."

Hiashi's brows knit, "What is it?"

"Iruka-sensei and Kaka-nii are here."

Just then the door flew open with a Hyuga guard flying backward with it and a worried Iruka striding into the room. Hiashi raised an eyebrow as the chunin rushed to Naruto and began fussing over the boy. Kakashi entered the room with a look that had sent many enemy ninja running for their lives, located Naruto, saw that Iruka was already confirming the good health of the boy, and went over to Hiashi, nodding at the Hyuga guard, "Never get in the way of a mother-henning chunin."

Hiashi chuckled, "Or an overprotective jonin guardian?"

Kakashi shrugged, "So what happened?"

Iruka listened with half an ear as he grilled Naruto and when Hiashi finished the explanation, he sighed and ruffled Naruto's hair, "Well I'm proud of you for helping Hinata out but next time you save someone endeavor to come out of it without injuries hmm?"

Naruto scrunched up his face, "What does endeavor mean Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka blinked, laughed, then caught Naruto in a hug as he let the relief of finding his little imp safe wash over him. Naruto squirmed a bit, "Iruka-sensei you're acting weird."

Iruka released Naruto with another chuckle and the boy looked over at Hinata, who was smiling at him from her father's lap, "Ne Hinata-chan you're in my class at the academy right?"

She nodded and he grinned, "You wanna hang out with me and my friends?"

Hinata ducked her head, "Y-you'd want me to?"

"Of course we would! You're really nice so why wouldn't we?"

"I-I'm not very g-good with other p-people."

"Because you're shy?"

She nodded and he hopped out of the bed despite Iruka's fluttering and went over to her poking her cheek lightly, "That's no big deal Hinata-chan. Sakura-chan and Choji are shy too and Shika's really quiet. Ino and I do more than enough talking for everyone so you can be as shy and quiet as you want. How about it? You wanna give us a shot?"

She smiled and nodded with a bright blush, making the adults in the room smile as Naruto cheered.

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Whew, that was a long one. This chapter was just introducing connections and setting up the changes I needed for the way I want this to go. I'm sure all of you know who the older boy who was watching the crows with Naruto was but just in case you don't I'll tell you that it was Itachi.

I refuse to countenance the revelations about Itachi in the manga (sticks fingers in ears and chants 'I can't hear you') He will have the Mangekyou but how he gets it will most certainly be different from canon. The sex ain't gonna come until Naruto is 15/16 because I don't think many 12 year old boys can actually...ejaculate. Being as I'm not a boy nor have I ever been that close to a 12 year old boy I have no personal knowledge of that nor do I ever want any personal knowledge of that, personally that thought is a big 'ewwwwww' for me.

So no shouta for you fans of it. But there may well be a few kisses and cuddles before he's 15. Remember reviews make the muse go round so please gimme some? Ja ne!


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